Popularizer of the Banjo – Virginia historical marker M68

Appomattox Court House * Tour the Village

The Popularizer of the Banjo – Virginia historical marker M68 is to the northeast of Appomattox Court House village along the north side of Virginia Route 24. It is next to the After the Surrender wayside marker.

The Popularizer of the Banjo - Virginia historical marker M68

Popularizer of the Banjo

Nearby is buried Joel Walker Sweeney (ca. 1810-1860), the musician who redesigned this African instrument into the modern five-string banjo that is known today. Although slaves apparently added the fifth string to what had been a four-strong instrument, Sweeney popularized the new form on the minstrel circuit. He toured with his two brothers, Sam and Dick, in minstrel shows from 1831 until his death in 1860. During the Civil War, Sam Sweeney served as Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s personal banjo picker until Seeney’s death in the winter of 1863-1864.

Department of Historic Resources 1997

Location of the marker:

The marker is on the west side of Virginia Route 24 northeast of the Visitor Center at a pull off on the north side of the highway just north of the crossing of the Appomattox River.